Sestina

Sewing the Doll's Dress 

A grayness takes hold of the rain
And of mom's sewing machine.
The foot pedal whirs away time:
A paisley dress for the doll,
A paisley dress for my sister
Who has closed her glassy eyes.

There's a heaviness in mom's eyes
Like ponchos filled with rain.
I listen to the rasping of my sister,
The gurgles of the sewing machine,
And the plunk of the blond-haired doll.
No one picks her up this time.

I keep checking the time,
And checking my sister's eyes
To see if they'll open like the doll's
To see if they're as gray as the rain.
Threads fall from the sewing machine
Like strands of hair from my sister.

I give cherry drops to my sister.
She takes them one at a time.
We watch the needle of the machine
Bounce with only one eye
Over and over like the rain
Its point into the dress of the doll.

Mom stops to touch the doll's
Forehead, then touches my sister's.
She says, they're both wet as rain,
The fever's gone down this time,
And then, with her tired eyes,
Goes back to the sewing machine.

A light gleams off the machine.
Mom's finished the dress for the doll.
Slowly, the doll closes one eye
And winks at my sister,
As if it were play time
As if it weren't raining.

My eyes turn blurry like my sister's.
I let go of time and the whir of the machine.
The doll gives me cherry drops and all I hear is the rain. 


Cindy Tebo